More than 50 days into the US blockade of Iran’s southern ports, Iraq’s Umm Qasr has emerged as a new hub for Iran-bound cargo, trade sources say, as Tehran’s first major workaround through Oman’s Khasab grows slower, busier and more expensive.
Iran's imports of services surged to a record $25. 5 billion in 2025 while merchandise imports fell sharply, according to newly released data from the Central Bank of Iran, highlighting a significant shift in the country's trade structure.
WASHINGTON, D. C. : The Trump administration this week imposed sanctions on Iran's largest digital asset exchange and three other cryptocurrency platforms, intensifying economic pressure on Tehran as Washington seeks to push Iran toward an agreement to end its conflict with the United States and Israel.
Jamshid Ghomi, of Newport Coast, Calif. , was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): The Centre on Thursday announced a Rs 10,000 crore Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price stabilisation mechanism for Indian airlines to ensure stability in air services, and shield passengers from the impact of extraordinary volatility in the global fuel prices amid the continuing crisis in West Asia.
What began as a geopolitical crisis in the Middle East nearly 100 days ago is increasingly becoming a food security crisis elsewhere, with UN agencies warning of rising hunger in Africa and malnourished children being turned away from medical clinics in Afghanistan.
Washington, DC [US], June 4 (ANI): The ongoing diplomatic engagements between the United States and Iran have hit a severe impasse following Tehran's rigid demand for the immediate unfreezing of capital at the very start of the process.
Washington, DC [US], June 4 (ANI): A dual US-Iranian citizen and chief executive of a Tehran-based technology firm has been apprehended in the United States on federal charges concerning a decade-long operation to unlawfully export American-origin networking and encryption hardware to Iran's nuclear and military sectors in breach of sanctions regulations.
Trump reiterates demand for Iran’s enriched uranium US President Donald Trump has again insisted that Washington wants control of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Asked about the issue during remarks in the Oval Office, Trump said: “I want to get it. ” He added that only the United States and China have the necessary “equipment” to retrieve the material.
Centcom says 125 vessels redirected under Iran port blockade US Central Command says it has redirected 125 commercial vessels since the launch of its naval blockade on Iranian ports in mid-April. CENTCOM added that six ships were “disabled” after failing to comply with the blockade, which was introduced by President Donald Trump as part of efforts to restrict Iran’s oil exports and pressure Tehran into accepting US terms for a deal. The latest figures show an increase from previous CENTCOM updates and indicate that enforcement operations against shipping linked to Iranian ports remain ongoing.
Iraq orders Kurdistan oil operations to resume Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has ordered oil companies to resume operations in the Kurdistan region, according to a statement from his office. Several energy firms had halted oil and gas production at fields in Iraqi Kurdistan following repeated drone attacks on oilfields and energy infrastructure. The production shutdowns added to wider disruptions in Middle East energy supplies following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent US blockade on Iranian ports.
Policy forum lays out ‘prolonged disruption’ scenario in which world’s GDP falls to 2. 1% this year from 3. 4% in 2025 Rural UK ‘particularly at risk’ of diesel shortages If the Middle East conflict drags on into next year it would hit global growth hard, driving some economies into recession and causing energy shortages, according to forecasts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
EU weighs sanctions on Israeli ministers over flotilla abuses A draft of conclusions prepared ahead of the European Union summit in June condemns what it describes as the ill-treatment of activists detained after Israel intercepted the Global Sumud aid flotilla in international waters, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. The draft states that the European Council “condemns the ill-treatment inflicted on detainees following the interception of the Global Sumud flotilla in international waters”. The document also calls on the EU Council to continue work on “restrictive measures against extremist ministers who incite and promote such human rights violations”.
US petrol prices jump 42. 2% from year ago amid oil market turmoil The average price of petrol in the United States was 42. 2 percent higher in May than a year earlier, according to figures released by the US Transportation Department.
Florida [US], June 3 (ANI): The United States military has disabled a commercial oil tanker attempting to access Iran as Washington continues to enforce its strict naval blockade on maritime traffic linked to Iranian ports, even as tensions remained high between Israel and Hezbollah despite a fresh round of diplomatic talks underway in the American capital.
The action against Nobitex and several of its executives accused it of helping the government evade sanctions and finance militants.
Rubio says US will only provide sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for nuclear concessions US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Iran would only receive sanctions relief if it surrenders its nuclear programme, brushing aside Tehran’s demands to obtain economic relief as part of a phased ceasefire. "Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities; if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
US sanctions Iran's largest crypto exchange over IRGC links The US announced sanctions on Nobitex, Iran’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, on Tuesday, accusing it of enabling the Iranian government and blacklisted state institutions to circumvent western sanctions. The new sanctions follow a Reuters investigation published on 1 May, which showed how Nobitex had become a central node in a parallel financial system used to process hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report also revealed how Nobitex continued operating even after the government-imposed internet shutdown, processing millions of dollars of transactions.
Rubio says US will only provide sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for nuclear concessions Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 17:45 US top diplomat rejects Iranian efforts to impose toll in Hormuz and rules out economic relief as part of temporary ceasefire US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerning the fiscal year 2027 budget for the State Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on 2 June 2026 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP) Off US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Iran would only receive sanctions relief if it surrenders its nuclear programme, brushing aside Tehran’s demands to obtain economic relief as part of a phased ceasefire. "Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities; if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
Prominent Greek shipping mogul willing to pay Iranian transit toll in Hormuz Submitted by Sean Mathews on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 17:14 Evangelos Marinakis, who owns over 150 vessels, said a toll could pay for 'damages' inflicted on Iran Nottingham Forest's Greek co-owner Evangelos Marinakis watches the English Premier League football match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United at The City Ground in Nottingham, central England, on 1 April 2025 (Paul Ellis/AFP) Off Greek shipping mogul Evangelos Marinakis has said he is prepared to pay Iran a transit fee in order to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that the fee would help compensate Iran for “damage” inflicted by the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic. “For me, it is better to pay a fee of $100,000 or $200,000, depending on the size of the cargo or the size of the vessel, than to have all this hassle,” Marinakis said at a forum hosted by TradeWinds News at a Posidonia shipping event in Athens on Tuesday. Marinakis, who owns over 150 vessels - including oil tankers, LNG carriers and bulk carriers - said that the money extracted from a toll “can pay for all the damage of what has happened so far”.
